Come for dinner and leave with your dinner for the next day. This is what could be Pacini’s new slogan. The restaurant, known for its legendary bread bar, is swimming against the tide a little by continuing to serve generous portions while encouraging people to bring home their leftovers.
The chain, which makes price adjustments twice a year, in the fall and spring, decided in May not to increase them, for the moment, in most of its establishments. And while many restaurateurs now serve less generous dishes to avoid increasing customers’ bills, Pacini refuses to reduce the size of his abundant plates.
“What I perceive is that, as soon as there is a reduction in the portion, it is very criticized,” says the director of public relations, Geneviève Nadeau. People feel cheated. “We don’t want customers to feel that way. “There is no one at the moment who is complaining that the portions are too generous, but we are aware that people generally don’t finish [their plate],” she admits, however.
While continuing to serve 300g portions of pasta and whole pizzas, Pacini decided to send a message to its customers.
Since May 20, the chain has been raising awareness among people who sit in its dining rooms about the culture of leftovers (commonly called doggy bags).
“Pacini has always offered generous portions, but did you know that for every meal consumed in a restaurant, the average amount of ingredients wasted is 210 grams? This is why we suggest you prolong your pleasure by collecting your surplus for a future meal. Ask your server for one of our recyclable containers,” we can now read on the menu.
The company also met with franchisees and employees, so that they too could pass the message on to customers. Ms. Nadeau recognizes that this way of doing things is not yet anchored in consumer habits.
Several customers, according to her, have the impression that this gesture will be poorly received. Franchisees told him that many of those who asked for a box to take away what was left of their spaghetti dish, for example, ended up forgetting it on the corner of the table.
Pacini also wants to invite people to do something for the environment. “In our restaurants, we are not equipped to compost for all kinds of operational reasons,” explains Geneviève Nadeau. Unfinished plates that are not returned therefore go to the trash.
But why not just serve smaller plates and avoid waste? “Honestly, I don’t know if people are ready for that,” she maintains. We never want to make a drastic change because we know the customer will notice. These are big risks. Cutting somewhere, we don’t like that. »
After contacting several restaurant chains, La Presse was able to see that Pacini is going it alone by focusing on its large portions, on the importance of bringing back leftovers and on this approach where we want the customer to have the Feeling like you’re getting more for your money.
This is also what the St-Hubert Group has put forward. “We will not reduce our portions,” first assured its communications director, Josée Vaillancourt. The rotisserie chain has instead focused on offering four small-format dishes, sold for less than $10, such as a small poutine or a “pet store for adults” with eight pieces of chicken.
For its part, Chocolats Favoris has announced a price freeze on its cones coated with chocolate sauce, despite the surge in cocoa prices. Ice cream lovers will therefore pay the same amount for their cone – regardless of the size – as they did last summer, a first for the company, which normally adjusts its prices each spring in preparation for the summer season.
In an interview a little over a week ago, the president of Chocolats Favoris, Dominique Brown, also assured that the formats will be the same size as last year. “The number of turns to serve ice cream has not changed,” he assures, a smile in his voice. This is because, every summer, many customers comment to him about the size of the cones which are decreasing. In fact, nothing has changed, he insisted.
